Two Against The Universe: Magic With A Price
by caneeljoy
Summary: Our two heroines are thrown into the world of Madoka Magica, complete with magical girl abilities, an alcoholic father, and five best friends.
1. Chapter 1: We're Here

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters in this story except the two sisters. Please don't sue me.

* * *

Suddenly, I am. That is the best way to describe it: one moment I am not, and the next I _am_.

A story plays out in my head. I see a little girl with light blue hair, spinning in circles in a field. She is holding hands with Another, who is younger and with hair pale as the moon. A voice in my head speaks… I think it might be mine.

 _My name is Ruka. I belong to the human race. My mother named me that because she told me my hair looked like a bright blue flower when I was born. My family used to be wonderful, but then my mother and father started fighting._ Images of thrown glasses and shattered plates run through my head. I cringe at the loud sound.

 _Kyuubey came to me when I was seven years old. He asked me if I wanted to bring my parents back together. I said yes, and we formed a contract. My parents were madly in love, and I became a magical girl at seven years old._ I feel the pain and am scared for a moment, before the moment passes.

 _My little sister, Sayuri, wished that my parents have the best wedding ever. She also became a magical girl. She wanted to be just like me… my biggest regret is that I didn't try and stop her. We were both too naive to understand the burdens of becoming a magical girl._

 _If it wasn't for Mami Tomoe, I would have turned into a witch before I was eight. I met her on my first excursion, accompanied by Kyuubey. Mami gave me a Grief Seed every week and also supplied for Sayuri. She kept me alive while she taught me to fight. By the time I was ten years old I didn't need her to fight anymore, but we had become very close and often teamed up. I started collecting enough Grief Seeds for Sayuri and me on my own._ I feel pride swell in my chest.

 _As I grew older, my parents started to hate each other. Now I knew what Mami meant about the repercussions of every wish. By the time I was twelve and Sayuri was eight, my parents went through a very messy divorce. We lived with our mother by the court of law, but then Sayuri's wish turned dark: our mother was run over by a truck. A truck carrying floral arrangements for a wedding. Classic magical girl irony. Now we live with our father, who burns through girlfriends faster than his cigarettes and beer cans._ A pang of bitterness.

 _My powers involve healing, which is basically useless because our bodies don't feel pain. It usually just makes Sayuri less scared when I heal her body. I can also tear a witch apart from the inside, given that I shoot it with my bow and arrows. My outfit is a light blue blouse with a bow on the front, with my Soul Gem in the center. My skirt is dark blue and flares out like flower petals, and I wear high socks and blue heeled boots. My hair is very long and spirals into gentle corkscrews down to my knees, and I wear a small bow with a blue heart in the middle on my head. My current age is fourteen._ A quick picture of myself passes through my mind.

 _Sayuri's powers stem from flowers. Her hair is blonde but is held up in mid-length pigtails, and the corkscrew tails turn pale pink at the ends. Her dress is a sleeveless white-and-pink dress with a pink bow around the waist. She wears pink tights, pink flats, and fights with a light pink parasol trimmed with fuchsia lace. She can shoot flowers from her hands and parasol, which have many properties such as explosive, acid, and supersonic. Her current age is ten._ Another quick flash of a face and costume.

 _The two of us are medium-strength magical girls. In recent years, we befriended Mami's friends, Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki. Later, after a few skirmishes, Homura Akemi and Kyoko Sakura joined our team._

 _Right now, I am fighting a weak witch to get a Soul Gem for Mami, who has asked for one. Sayuri is holding her own but I want to help her._

I snap back into my body. It is slightly disorienting at first, but I am soon accustomed to the feeling. I wonder what was going on before I remembered all my memories, but dismiss the problem for later. Right now, there is a bolt of energy shooting at me-

-which I dodge. I pull my arrow taut on the string and shoot for the witch, who is not quick enough to deflect it. It buries deep in her side. She screams as I focus, and she rips apart, leaving a single Grief Seed quivering on the ground.

The labyrinth collapses around us, leaving Sayuri and I standing in the middle of a semi-crowded mall. I pick up the Grief Seed and inspect it.

Sayuri lands lightly next to me. We don't bother looking around; nobody ever notices us when we're in costume.

"How is your Soul Gem?" I ask her.

"But it's for Mami-san… isn't it?"

"If you need it, I can always get another."

"It's alright. A little dim, but I can wait a few days, I think."

"Let's go deliver it to Mami, then!" I try to sound upbeat as I remember Mami mentioning a fight between two of the girls. She didn't mention which two, but I remembered times… well, I was almost certain that it was Sayaka and Kyoko. Those two were always at each other's throats.

 _You have a purpose._ A Voice startles me from my body, which I was just getting use to. I vaguely recall floating among the stars…

What am I?

 _You are a Fixer, and you have a special purpose here,_ the Voice says.

What purpose? Who am I? Who are _you_?

 _Human questions, Young One. You are Ruka; that is who you are right now._

What do you mean by purpose? What purpose?

 _There is a great evil coming. Without you and the Other, these girls will all fall into darkness. You must help them, keep them strong, and when they defeat Walpurgisnacht your job will be over._

Will I die?

 _Do not fear death._ And then the Voice is gone.

Sayuri is shaking my shoulder. There is something in her eyes that is deep and dark. "Sister? Sister, did you hear the Voice?"

I am silent for a moment. Then, I smile. "No, Sayuri-chan, I didn't… And why are you calling me your sister? My name is Ruka."

"I… I…" Her face brightens, eyes clearing. "Never mind!"

I wonder… but I try not to think.


	2. Chapter 2: Mami's And Plans

"Thank you so much, Ruka-san!" Mami looks refreshed after cleansing her Soul Gem. "I owe you one."

"You kept me alive for over four years. You owe me nothing." I take a sip of warm tea.

Sayuri grins. "It was an easy fight. Easy peasy."

"Don't get too cocky," Mami cautions. "I almost lost my head one time… if it wasn't for Madoka-chan I'd be dead."

"Oh, it was nothing, really!" Madoka blushes lightly. "Anything for a friend!"

"Speaking of friends…" Mami passed Homura a cup of tea. "Anybody seen Sayaka-san?" This was a rhetorical question, really, because we all knew the reason why Sayaka wasn't with us, or at least guessed.

Kyoko bit into one of Mami's cookies that she'd provided. Mami did love her refreshments, especially if she made them herself. "Said she was gonna chase a witch downtown." I could detect the slight worry in her voice, simply because I knew her so well.

"Didn't she ask you to tag team?" Madoka asked. I abruptly remembered that "tag team" was our word for fighting with a partner.

"No," Kyoko said shortly. She took another violent bite.

"I bet she misses you," Mami said, voice mild as ever.

"Not as much as I miss her," Kyoko mutters very quietly. Everything's a contest with Kyoko.

"Why don't you show up and surprise her?" I suggest. "Besides, she might be in trouble…"

Kyoko stands. "Fine, you've all guilted me into it." She snags another cookie and hefts her Soul Gem in her other hand. "Catch ya later!" She runs out of the apartment.

"Those two…" Mami shakes her head, smiling.

"I think it's sweet," Madoka says.

Homura smiles slightly as a way of agreement.

"You guys are weird," Sayuri wrinkles her nose and takes a fourth cookie.

Even though I don't want to, I stand. "Well, we should be getting back." I never call my father's house "home." It's not home at all. But sometimes he gets very angry if Sayuri and I come home late… The bonus of being a magical girl is that if he hits us, we don't feel it at all, which is nice but usually enrages him further if we don't react at all.

"Aw," Sayuri complains.

"You two are always welcome to stay over," Mami reminds me again. I remember how I nearly always decline. I feel that I owe her too much to invade her privacy. I work an afterschool job (when I can, that is); I'm saving up for an apartment for Sayuri and I.

Madoka stands as well. "Yes, I suppose my parents will be expecting Homura-chan and me back soon." I remember that Madoka is letting Homura stay at her house.

Mami sighs. "We should all have a big sleepover one of these days. It does get lonely…" I remember our last sleepover. It involved fudge and copious amounts of Silly String… lots of fun.

"Yes, we really should!" Sayuri claps her hands.

"Maybe in a few days," Homura speaks up. "We have exams on Friday, remember?"

Madoka blanches. "Ahh! I've been so busy chasing that witch around that I forgot!"

"What witch?" Mami asks.

"Oh, it's not important, she's very minor," Madoka reassures her. "But she's slippery! She makes people choke themselves to death, but incidents happen only about once a week. She's very hard to track."

"If you come over tomorrow, I can help you study," Mami says.

"Can I come over too?" I feel a bit sheepish. "I haven't been studying much either…"

"Lucky for you, I'm an excellent studier!" Mami smiles sweetly. "How about a sleepover on Saturday to celebrate ending exams?"

"Sounds good, I'll text Sayaka-san and Kyoko-san about it." I whip out my cellphone, which I remember my mother gave to me a few weeks before she died. I've taken very good care of it ever since.

"How about we have it at my house?" Madoka suggests. "My mom keeps asking me why I never have friends over anymore…"

"Well, we wouldn't want to keep your mom waiting!" Mami giggles. "We'll be there."

"What time?" Homura asks Madoka. "We should tell your parents…"

"They're basically your parents too, Homura-chan!" Madoka grabbed Homura's hand. "How about 4 in the afternoon? That should give us time."

"Time for what?" I ask as I type _Madoka's house, 4pm Sat sleepover_ on my phone and send it to Kyoko and Sayaka.

"Time to make dessert!" Madoka grins. "It's going to be so much fun!"

We bid our goodbyes to Mami and made our way home in the twilight.


	3. Chapter 3: It's Like I Was Always Her

Two days pass, and I sort of lose myself in the life of Ruka. It is not an ideal life, but it is the life I am leading. It's uncomfortable to dwell on what the past and future hold, or if I am really named Ruka at all… so I don't think about it.

I went over to Mami's and studied very well for about an hour, before Madoka took off with Homura to track down that witch. After that, Mami, Sayuri, and I swapped terrible jokes, most of them about flunking this upcoming exam.

I'm pretty sure I passed it, though!

I pick Sayuri up from her school (she takes tutoring on Saturdays) and we start our walk home together. Now I just have to tell our father about the sleepover… so he doesn't call the police on us, like the last time I went out without telling him.

"He'll be okay with it… right?" Sayuri clasps her hand in mine.

I smile at her. "It doesn't matter if he's okay with it, Sayu-chan, we're still going. But we need our overnight bags."

"Yeah, I guess so."

I change the subject. "How was school today?"

Her face brightens. "We had an exam on word problems in math today."

I always was jealous of her math prowess. "Kicked butt?"

"You betcha!" Her face glows with pride.

"Aren't you excited for tonight!?" I worked at keeping her mind off of what undoubtedly was waiting at home.

"Yeah!" Sayuri grins. She swings our interlaced hands back and forth, back and forth. I feel a slight whiff of melancholy, but it quickly passes.

The walk home is too short and pleasant to last. We take the steps up to the front door, and I turn to Sayuri, bending down to be at her height. "I'll talk to him. Go upstairs and fetch our overnight bags." We always keep them packed, just in case.

Sayuri nods solemnly.

I open the door silently, shooing my sister upstairs. "Chichi, we're home!" A term of familial endearment that I use only for show.

"Get in here," came a slow, lazy voice from the living room. I can tell that he's been drinking from the slight slur.

I walk through the door, stepping over some of his dirty clothes. He always leaves them everywhere. I go over to the couch, where he's watching television, and stand off to the side. Last time I blocked his view, he threw me into a wall.

"Anything important?" This, too, is just a formality. He doesn't care.

I take a deep breath. "We're spending the night at a friend's house tonight."

This turns his head. "Tonight? You have chores to do."

"What chores?" I keep my voice light.

"Washing the clothes, doing the dishes, all that stufffff." His head lolls to the right. His eyes are unfocused.

"I can do those all tomorrow." Before he can respond, I turn and leave. Sayuri is in the mudroom with our backpacks, and I accept mine from her. No noise comes from the room next to us; he must have passed out. Good.

I swing the straps around my shoulders.

"Is he…?" Sayuri asks tentatively.

I nod. I know what she's saying. "Come on… let's go."


End file.
